Brotherhood of the Canines
by Simply an Author
Summary: Curious Heart had a strange dream, but is it connected to his past, or just a bad nightmare?
1. Part I

Author's Note:

I do not own the Carebears. But I do own Curious Heart Wolf and maybe a new character that may come in another chapter. Mariel owns Regal, Stellar, Connie and any other associated characters. I don't own the song "Colors of the Wind" either. I believe Ashanti owns it, if memory serves me, or maybe Disney, I forgot which one.

This is one of my first double or multi chapter stories, so be nice. It's also longer, so it'll be a bit harder for me for the characters to actually stay in character, so they might be OOC a little.

**Brotherhood of the Canines - Part One**

**What Is Wrong With Me?**

It was just another busy day for the carebear family. Most of the carebears and carebear cousins were getting things ready for a big party that was coming, while some of the other carebears were on Caring Missions. Others, like Regal and Stellar, were busy on personal affairs (kids). It was just another ordinary day.

However, for Curious Heart Wolf, the day started a bit differently than you'd expect…

-

Curious Heart wolf opened his eyes…

Curi was standing in a large clearing in the night, surrounded by large trees looming in the darkness. Various boulders and stones of different shapes and sizes were littered all around the clearing. Shadows, as dark as an abyss, shifted everywhere around him, running from the shadows to the trees, to the large ones of the boulders. Creepy and frightening sounds completely filled the background of the clearing. The moon only adding to the haunted look of the forest.

"Where am I?" Curi murmured to himself, trying to figure out where he was. 'Is this another area of the Forest of Feelings?' he thought, but the scent of the area was different than that of the Forest of Feelings, yet it was also vaguely familiar.

"Hello?" he called out. "Anybody there?" he continued. But his calls were left unanswered, and no matter how strong his calls were, it remained unanswered, and he was beginning to become scared and panicky.

'Its okay,' he thought to reassure himself. 'After all, Loyal Heart will find me,' he thought, but he didn't believe himself.

Then, when he thought that it couldn't get any darker, the light from the moon started to fade, and the darkness began to stretch towards him.

"Wha-what's happening?" he asked out loud, hoping desperately that someone would answer his question, but, once again, none came.

Once the darkness was at its peak, a large resounding blast echoed loudly behind him. Startled greatly, he tensed up. He didn't want to look at his back; he didn't want to know what was behind him, but his curiosity got the better of him.

What was behind him was a bipedal creature, holding a large stick, as it seemed.

'A person!' he thought happily. 'Maybe he can help me get out of this place,' he thought, relief coursing through his body.

"Hello, do you know ho-" he said, but was cut of by another large bang, only it came from the 'stick' that the man was holding. Something whizzed past him. His fear started to come back, and it seemed to have brought back reinforcements ten-times the force, but reined his instincts.

"What was that?" he asked, his voice shaky, but he wasn't answered. The man seemed to be doing something to his stick. "Hello, what was-" he tried to ask again, he was once again cut off by another bang, and instead of something whizzing past, something struck the ground.

And this time, his amazing curiosity was pushed back into the depths of his mind.

He found himself running away from the man. His instincts had taken over, telling him to run away as soon as possible and as far as possible. Another bang resounded, and something whizzed past him. Then he felt himself run faster, as fast as something he never thought possible for him.

Then he arrived at a large lake, and he was thirsty from his run. He hoped that the man was far away, when he decided to get a drink. But when he reached the edge of the lake, what he saw completely surprised him.

His reflection he saw was not what he usually saw. It was another wolf, but not like him. It stood on four legs, had sharp teeth, a body made for agility and speed, a darker shade of fur, its eyes were a bit bluer than his, and he noticed that it was wearing _his_ bangle, which seemed to sparkle.

'Who is this? Or…is this me?' he thought incredulously.

But before he could be sure of himself, he heard the same bang, and a very sharp pain on his side seemed to appear, making him yelp in pain. He looked over at his side, his fear growing once again, to see that the man was there.

'No…' he thought, as the man aimed his stick at him. 'No…' he thought, desperately trying to make himself move, but he was frozen to the spot. 'Please, no,' he thought, wanting Loyal Heart, anyone, to be there and save him.

The same loud bang resounded, and he once again felt a sharp pain on his side, knocking him on his other, uninjured side. And then, the man seemed to be searching for something, doing something, but he didn't know what, for he could barely feel himself breathing…and then…

…Everything went black…

-

Loyal Heart Dog looked at the tan wolf's sleeping form on the wolf's bed. Curi was sweating madly, and he kept shaking and thrashing, and Loyal Heart had to tie his limbs to stop his thrashing, but that didn't stop his body from shaking crazily and his head from jerking from side to side.

He had tried desperately to wake him up. He shook him, but that didn't do any good. He had then tried shouting in his ear, but that still didn't help. He had even tried dumping cold water I on him, but that didn't do anything but make his bed wet.

He wanted to get Take Care Heart, but he was too worried for Curi to get her. He was like the younger brother he never had.

Suddenly, Curi's eyes opened and widened, but he was silent. He stopped thrashing; the only thing that told Loyal that he was alive was his chest, which was moving up and down.

"C-Curious?" Loyal Heart said cautiously, as he walked towards him.

When he was towering over him, his eyes darted from the ceiling to his face, which showed great worry. Curi's face was void of emotion. His eyes, however, showed great fear and depression.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his worry increasing ten-fold as he quickly untied the ropes that he made using his tummy symbol.

"Loyal…Heart?" came his raspy reply, and then he sat up slowly. He was very shaky, but he sat up.

"Curi!" he yelled, and hugged his 'younger brother' as relief flooded his body. His grip was too tight, though, for it was making him suffocate.

'I never knew he could hug that tight,' Curi thought. "Um…Loyal? Losing…air!" he tried to say.

"Oh!" Loyal exclaimed, as he released his bear hug on him. "I'm sorry, but I'm just so relieved your okay!" he explained.

"Okay…But can you explain why my ear won't stop ringing and why my bed is wet?" he asked, scratching his ear.

"Well…I'll explain later," Loyal Heart said nervously. "First, why were you thrashing?" he asked seriously.

"I…"Curi said nothing else.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it," Loyal Heart said, hoping he didn't say anything that would have made it worse.

"I…Ugh!" Curi yelped in pain as images of his dream flooded his mind. He held his head in his hands, trying to stop them.

A large and dark forest…a fading moon…the man with the 'stick'…the large lake…the wolf…

All these images flashed in his head, and then, it all stopped just like that.

"Curious?" Loyal Heart exclaimed, not knowing what to do.

Then Curi's hands fell back on his lap, his head bowed down.

"Cu-Curious?" he asked again.

Then he saw something he never saw before as Curious Heart looked at him. There were tears flowing from his eyes.

"What's wrong with me, Loyal Heart?" he asked weakly, his tears becoming more frequent. "Why don't I feel the same way whenever I wake up?" he asked. "Why did those images come?" he asked, his tone asking, 'Why me?'

Recalling what Grams and Regal Heart always do whenever one of the cubs cried, he walked towards the younger canine and sat beside him. Then he began rubbing Curi's back, hoping to comfort him.

They just stayed like that for a few minutes, Curi's crying slowly stopping.

"That was a dream, or maybe more of a nightmare," Loyal Heart told him, still rubbing his back.

"A-a nightmare?" he asked. He knew what a dream was, but he never heard of a nightmare.

"A nightmare is like a dream, except it has bad things instead of good things, it has a lot of bad stuff," Loyal Heart said, hoping that his explanation was enough for the presently vulnerable wolf. "Maybe you'd want to talk about it, but not now, I think you're still trying to overcome your drea-I mean, your nightmare," he said, stopping his rubbing.

Curi gave a slow nod. He stopped crying, but his eyes were red and puffy.

"Go to the bathroom and wash up," Loyal Heart told him, "we should eat breakfast already."

Curi gave another nod, and he went to the bathroom.

Once Curi was out of hearing range, Loyal Heart said, "I just hope you won't have another nightmare, little brother." He really considered Curious Heart Wolf as his younger brother. He has really gotten attached to him.

-

Curious Heart was standing in front of the sink. He looked at the running water from the faucet, reflecting on his nightmare.

'Was that really me in the nightmare?' he thought to himself. 'But how can that be when I was right here?' he thought.

He cupped his hands, got some water, and splashed his face. 'Maybe someone can explain it sometime, but…' his thoughts left him as he winced, feeling a numb pain on his side.

He looked under his arm, and stared in shock, mouth gaping. On his side were red bruises, and they had the same mark as the injuries he saw in the nightmare, but they weren't bleeding. 'How did I get that?' he thought.

He touched it, and winced. It was painful to touch. 'Why didn't I feel that before?' he thought again.

Sighing dejectedly, he splashed his face with water again, and then said, "I don't like nightmares…Not at all."

Then again…who doesn't?

**…Searching…Helping…**

A while after that, Loyal Heart took Curious for their daily Tummy Symbol Practice. However, Loyal Heart became concerned when Curious Heart stayed silent for the whole time. Not a single question, remark, or seldom joke, and whenever he asked Curi something, he only answered in one-syllable sentences or a short gesture.

"Okay, I think were done for now," Loyal Heart announced.

Curious gave a small nod.

'What's wrong with him? He's been silent and reserved all day,' Loyal Heart thought. "Hey, what do you want to do now?' Loyal Heart asked, hoping that he can liven him up a bit, but Curi only gave a shrug.

'Okay, that's worse,' Loyal Heart thought. Curious always wants to do something, suggesting every single thing that comes to his child-like mind.

"Loyal?" Curi said, startling Loyal Heart.

"Yes, Curious?" he asked, perking up a little. 'Maybe he changed his mind,' the dog thought hopefully.

"Can I go back to the house now? I don't feel like doing anything today…" he told him, eyes downcast.

"Oh…Okay," he replied, his hopes shattered, as Curious Heart walked back towards their house.

And then Brave Heart came along.

"Hey Curious Heart!" he bellowed. "How are ya doing?" he asked, but Curious only passed him, not even acknowledging the lion.

"Hey, Curious Heart!" he said, calling to the retreating form of the wolf, but was once again not acknowledged. He faced Loyal Heart and said, "Whats wrong with him? He's usually livelier than that."

"I wish I knew, but he wouldn't even say a single sentence since…" he stopped.

"Since what?" Brave Heart asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later. Do you know anyone whose good with dreams or nightmares?" he asked, completely changing the subject.

"Huh? Well, Bedtime Bear is good with 'em," he told the dog.

"But he's on a caring mission right now if I can recall," Loyal Heart pointed out.

"I think True Heart might know something, but-hey wait a minute! What's this about?" he demanded. "Did Curious Heart have a dream?"

Loyal Heart nodded, and then said, "More of a nightmare really, and I need to get him to tell me what it is."

"Oh, is there anything I can do to help?" Brave Heart asked helpfully.

Loyal Heart grinned. "Can you watch over Curi for me, while I go talk to True Heart?" he asked.

Brave Heart looked reluctant at first, thinking what might happen, but told himself that Curious Heart Wolf needs to be watched over, at least for now.

"You can count on me, Loyal Heart!" he said confidently.

"Thanks a lot Brave Heart," he said, "it means a lot to me."

"No problem," he replied. "It won't be hard to watch over a sullen wolf," he told the dog.

"I hope so," Loyal Heart said. 'I really hope so. He has the tendency to do the unpredictable, and he's proved that way too many times.'

-

It had taken a while for Loyal Heart to find True Heart Bear. She was usually around talking with Noble Heart, but today, the horse told him that she has been busy, saying that she felt that something was wrong.

"Do you know where I can find her?" Loyal Heart asked. "Its for something really important."

"Hmm. Maybe she's by the lake in the Forest of Feelings. She likes to go there to relax from time to time, although she did say that she goes there to be alone, maybe she could use some company other than me for a while," the horse said, smiling gently.

"Um, do you think that it would be alright? After all, you did say that it was her alone time," he said.

"Of course," he said. "Besides, she is beginning to get me concerned," he said, showing some worry in his voice.

"Okay, if you say so," he said, smiling. 'I wonder what's wrong thought,' he thought. "I hope its nothing like Curi's problems,' he hoped.

-

Meanwhile, with Curious Heart and Brave Heart…

Curious Heart was resting on his bed restlessly. Brave Heart watched over him through a window, 'cause he decided that he didn't want to be seen, in case Curious Heart would do something. Although he didn't know what he might do, he still remembered how Connie was whenever she got into one of her 'moods', and he wasn't ready to get that from a very sullen and upset wolf.

Suddenly, Curi's eyes opened and he sat up. He got off his bed, not bothering to fix it, and went out of the door.

"Hm? Where is he going?" Brave Heart mumbled to himself, running to the window next to Curi's room to see what he would do next.

When he reached the window, all he saw was a familiar tail go into a door that led outside their house. He looked over to the side and saw the tan wolf walk towards a clearing in the forest.

'Where does he think he's going? He should be in bed!' Brave Heart thought, following and making sure he isn't seen or heard.

And then Brave Heart stepped on a small twig that he didn't see. 'Yikes!' he thought, sure that the wolf would hear him with his keen hearing. Strangely though, Curious didn't do anything that told Brave Heart that he suspected his presence. He just continued on, not a singe twitch. However, he was shaky while walking.

'This is really bad,' the lion thought, worried. 'The second he would have heard that and he would be on me in a matter of seconds!' Still, though, he followed, fully intending to know what the out-of-character wolf was up to.

He had tried to surprise the wolf one time by sneaking up on him, but he stepped a twig and the wolf found him pretty easily after that, ensuing his game of hundred questions, asking why he was sneaking.

-

It only took a while after for them to reach the clearing. Curious Heart was standing in the middle, while Brave Heart was hiding behind a cluster of trees. The clearing, unlike the one in Curi's dream, was bright. The trees, instead of scary and looming, were colorful and nice. The surroundings were filled with singing of birds and buzzing of bees.

And yet, Curious didn't even notice them. His face remained blank ever since he went out of the house, and this was no different.

All of a sudden, Curi winced, held his head and let out a shout, falling on his knees.

"Curious Heart!" Brave Heart called out, not caring that he was going to be seen. He ran towards him, worried.

He got hold of the pained wolf and shook him. "Curious Heart, snap out of it!" he said.

Then Curious looked at him, opening his eyes, but something about his eyes startled Brave Heart greatly. His eyes weren't their normal sky blue color; instead, they were crimson red. They showed confusion and pain, but most of all fear.

"Wha-what the?" Brave Heart yelled, taken by surprise.

"Help…me…!" Curious said, and then his eyes changed back to their normal color and he fainted.

'What happened?' Brave Heart thought, but gathered himself quickly. 'Still, Curious Heart needs help.'

"I better take him to Take Care Bear, maybe she'll know whats wrong with him," he muttered to himself, taking Curious by the arm and putting him on his back. Although the eye thing startled him to his wits, Curious Heart was still Curious Heart, and this Curious Heart needs help.

Carefully, he ran towards the edge of the Forest where the red bear would be staying.

Unknown to him, however, that Curious Heart's bangle was glowing dimly, and soon, the glow disappeared, like it never happened.

**What's In A Dream?**

'I wonder what Curious Heart and Brave Heart are doing right now…' Loyal Heart thought, trekking through the forest to get to the lake.

After his short chat with Noble Heart, he began going towards the lake.

However, he started to hear a low humming, growing with each step he took. 'True Heart?' he wondered, recognizing the tone of the voice who was singing.

_You think you own whatever land you land on  
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim  
But I know every rock and tree and creature  
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name_

True Heart had sung to them when they were young, and they all loved to hear her sing. She had a beautiful singing voice, and now that they were older, they don't get to hear much of her singing anymore.

He spotted her sitting by the lake, singing softly as the birds twittered about, adding some short tones to her song.

'Maybe I'll stay here and listen for a while. I rarely hear her sing,' he thought, smiling as he sat down beside a tree.

You think the only people who are people  
Are the people who look and think like you  
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger  
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

_Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon  
Or ask the grinning bob cat why he grins  
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind_

_  
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest  
Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the earth  
Come roll in all the riches all around you  
And for once never wonder what they're worth_

_The rainstorm and the river are my brothers  
The heron and the otter are my friends  
And we are all connected to each other  
In a circle of a hoop that never ends_

_Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon  
Or let the eagle tell you where he's been  
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind_

_How high does the sycamore grow  
If you cut it down then you'll never know  
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon  
For whether we are white or copper skinned  
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain  
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind_

_You can own the earth and still  
All you own is earth until  
You paint with all the colors of the wind_

As she finished her song, Loyal Heart applauded her.

"Oh!" she acknowledged, blushing and she smiled at him. "Loyal Heart, I didn't see you there," she said.

"I just wanted to hear you sing, that's all," he said.

"Very well," she said. "Now, do you need anything?" she asked.

"Um…I was wondering if you could help me with something, and also Noble Heart told me that you might want some company," he told her, scratching the back of his head.

"How sweet of him, I should thank him later," she noted to herself. "So, what do you need help in?" she asked, still smiling.

"Well, you see, Curi's had a bad dream today," he said.

"Oh, and you want me to see if I could help him?" she asked.

He nodded.

"You can just comfort him, after all, isn't he like a younger brother to you?" she pointed out.

"Yes, and I did just that, but he seemed reserved and silent since his nightmare, and he's getting me really worried," he said. " He wasn't acting himself all throughout the day, and I think it has something to do with his dream," he explained.

"Well…I have been feeling some disturbances in the…_dream world_," she said.

"Dream World?" he asked.

"Yes…You see, not only Bedtime Bear makes sure that everyone has good dreams, but I help in another way; I help Bedtime Bear by telling him what's in the dream world," she explained. "Noble Heart, Tender Heart, Proud Heart, Take Care Bear and Bedtime Bear are the only ones that know," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Curious Heart has really rubbed off on you, hasn't he?" she said in a statement, making him blush. "The reason why only they know is because it's a big responsibility, and I don't want to be the center of attention, and Take Care Bear and Bedtime Bear might need some help once in a while, and I can help them with that," she explained to him. "I still hope that Proud Heart can keep the secret, he can still get a slip of the tongue from time to time."

"Oh, okay," he said, giggling. "So you can help Curi?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe, but I'll need your help," she said.

"For what?" he asked.

"Your very close to him, and because of that, I can connect to his Dream Plane easier. And before you ask, a dream plane is someone's place where he or she has his or her dreams," she said, knowing what he was going to say before he said it.

"Okay, but how?" he asked. Then he blinked. 'He really has rubbed off on me…' he thought.

"Just relax, and we may be in your dream plane before you know it," she informed him. "We'll be in yours before we can reach hid, by the way."

He nodded nervously, but then he started to relax like he was told.

And in a blink of an eye, True Heart's symbol flashed, and he wasn't in the forest anymore…

-

Where he was amazed him. It was like in his dream, a beautiful place with green and lush trees. He was on a hill, flowers blooming everywhere, birds and crickets chirping here and there, and even butterflies fluttering about from flower to flower. The birds chirping seemed to have added a soothing effect to the environment, feeling himself relax by the second. He could've fell asleep right there and then.

Then…

"Well isn't that cute!" a familiar voice of True Heart's exclaimed.

He looked at where he heard her voice and saw her looking at something below the hill. He walked over to her and what he saw made him blush profusely.

Right down the hill was his latest dream, he himself and another carebear cousin, which he had made up in his head like an imaginary friend, but only when he dreamed. A _female _bipedal dog with pretty white fur with no clear tummy symbol was playing a friendly game of tag with him.

It was hard for him not to have dreams like this, after seeing so many couples appearing in the Kingdom of Care-A-Lot. Regal and Stellar, Swift Heart and Grumpy, he heard that Bright Heart and Gentle Heart were together, and even when Brave Heart and Proud Heart were together for a short while.

"Uh…Well-you see-I…" he stuttered. He couldn't think of anything to say that would help him save his dignity. Although he knew that True Heart would be gently and understanding, he still couldn't help but be embarrassed.

"Its okay, Loyal Heart, I'm sure your not the only one with dreams like this," she said to him, smiling.

"Can we go now? I'm not very comfortable with me actually seeing me like that, or like this either," he told her.

"Don't worry, we can see them," she gestured to him, er, his dream self and the white female, "but they can't see us."

"Well, that's convenient," Loyal Heart commented.

"Yes, now we need to find Curious Heart's Dream Plane," she said, looking beyond the field where Dream Loyal and his 'friend' were playing.

"How do we know if were in his dream plane?" he asked, tilting his head.

"It's a portal, and we'll know who it belongs to, so don't worry," she explained to him, walking away.

He nodded and followed the white bear. He wondered what she mean when she said that they would know whom the Dream Plane belongs to, though.

-

After a while, they found a swirling purple portal leading to some kind of dark forest.

"Is this it?" he asked, cautiously.

"Maybe, only one way to find out," she said as she stepped in the portal before he could say anything.

"Ah…" he said. He hesitant, he wasn't sure if he should go in, "Maybe I shouldn't, besides, it's might not be Cu-ack!" he was cut of by a white arm shooting out of the portal and grabbing him, therefore pulling him in afterwards.

The second his head passed through, Curious Heart's curious face appeared, and in a split second disappeared.

'Is that what she meant?' he thought. Although it was only a short while, he could recognize his naturally curious, blue eyes anywhere.

When he got back on his feet, the arm's grip released and he saw a very concerned True Heart in front of him.

"I'm sorry about that, Loyal Heart, but I believe that you want to see this," she explained, showing a very scared Curi in the middle of a clearing of the dark forest they were in.

"Hello? Anybody there?" the dream wolf asked out loud.

"Curious Heart! I'm right here," Loyal Heart called out, but he remained unanswered. "Huh?"

"Its no use, Loyal Heart, its like their sight, we can see them, but they can't see us. Likewise, we can hear them, but they can't hear us," True Heart explained.

Suddenly, everything became darker and a lot scarier. And a loud boom resounded at their right side.

"Wha-whats happening?" Dream Curi asked out loud, clearly becoming panicked.

Loyal and True Heart looked at their side to see a shadowed man carrying a big stick.

"A gun!" they both said, very unsettled by this fact. However, unlike them, Dream Curi looked relieved.

"Hello, do you know ho-" Dream Curi said, but the man shot, cutting him off. Luckily, his aim was bad, his bullet shooting by him. "What was that?" he asked, his voice showing his growing fear.

Meanwhile, the man seemed to reloading his gun with more bullets, but Curious Heart, dream or not, did not know that.

"Curious Heart! Run away, now!" Loyal Heart yelled, but then remembered that he couldn't do anything. He looked at True Heart, but her face showed worry, clearly showing that she didn't know what to do right now.

"Hello, what was-" Dream Curious tried to ask again, he cut off by another of the man's shot, which landed near his legs.

"That's it!" Loyal Heat said. Dream or no dream, he was not going to let happen to Curi. He started start a Stare, but True Heart stopped him.

"No! Who knows what might happen to his dream plane if you do that," she said, worry stricken on her face.

"But," he tried to say, but hopelessness of the situation was clear.

When they looked back at Curious Heart, he had started to run.

"We will need to see what happens next to know what fully happens," True Heart said, as she gestured that they should go after him.

He nodded as began to run after the fleeing wolf, whilst she followed.

They could still see his form, but suddenly, another bullet whizzed passed him. 'Glad that missed, even if this is a dream,' he thought. But as the bullet barely missed Curi, Curious started to become transparent, and another transparent form began forming around his lower body

"What's happening to Curious?" he asked True Heart, still running.

"I'm afraid I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see," she replied, becoming tired because of the running.

The second Curious disappeared, and the transparent form around his lower body solidified, Loyal Heart would've stop, except the hunter was still behind them, and they still needed to catch up to Dream Curi. Still, though, he remained in silence.

The new form was a complete surprise to both of them. It was another wolf, except it was on four legs, had a sleek and agile body, a longer snout, and a little darker shade of fur. But what surprised them most was that it was wearing Curious Heart Wolf's bangle, which was glowing, albeit dimly.

The same question filled their heads, the exact, same question that Curi asked himself when he first saw his reflection.

'Is that Curious Heart?'

-

It was harder to follow it, because of its faster body, but they were still able to follow it.

They arrived the lake a few moments later. That's when they saw that the wolf already saw its reflection. It looked just as surprised as they were, maybe even more, but before they could go near it, a resounding bang frightened them. Fear filled the carebears' bodies as they saw that it was shot, aimed for Curi's, or the wolf's, side, making it yelp.

To fuel their fear, the hunter was now right beside them, aiming once again his gun at the injured wolf.

"Oh no…" True Heart said, scared at what she was seeing.

"I can't let this happen, even if this is a dream," Loyal Heart said, not caring whether or not if he would get hurt. He was loyal to all his friends after all, and he didn't want any of them to get hurt.

He ran in front of the hunter, preparing for what may happen. If True Heart even acknowledged what he was going to do, she hid it very well. Either that or she was still in state of shock, most likely the latter.

When the shot was made, Loyal Heart shut his eyes tightly, but he didn't feel any pain. He heard, however, a loud yelp, forcing himself to open his eyes.

He looked at his back, and shuddered at what he saw. The wolf was on its side, two bullet injuries on its side.

True Heart stayed still in shock, absorbing what she was seeing.

Loyal Heart, too, stayed still. He couldn't believe that this was what was actually in Curi's dream. 'It must be horrible for him,' he thought, pitying the wolf carebear cousin.

The hunter was left unacknowledged however, until he started moving towards the half-dead wolf, but the carebears knew that they couldn't do anything; what happened, or didn't happen, to Loyal Heart proved that.

The hunter took the wolf's bracelet, and seemed to have gone towards a tree, and below a tree was a den. He took something out, but Loyal Heart couldn't see because of the shadows, but by True Hearts frightened look, it was obvious she knew.

Then everything flashed for a while, making both of them wince, and when the light stopped, they were back where they started.

"What just happened?" Loyal Heart asked, confused.

"Everything is restarting" she replied, her tone of voice sad.

"Restarting, so his dream plane will be like this until he has another dream?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Okay…so what did you see?" he asked, wondering what the hunter took.

"First, we should get out of here, second, Curious Heart may also want to hear this, so I'll tell you later. We'll go find him first," she replied, going through the portal from which they came from.

"Okay," he said, uncertain.

The second he went in the portal, he saw himself for a split second.

The change of environment was a good feeling for him.

'No more dark forests for me,' he thought.

It took them a while before they reached the hill where they cam from, but they had made it, but not before True Heart commenting on how cute he looked with his playmate down the hill.

"Can you please not tell anyone, I'm not sure I want them to know," he told her.

"Its okay, I know when someone wants his privacy," she said, smiling gently.

He sighed in relief as he followed her to the middle of the hill.

"Why didn't we go back where we were?" he asked.

"Because I don't want to intrude on Curious Heart in whatever he's doing," she replied. "Were actually asleep in real life right now, and if we went out of the dream world in his dream plane, then we would appear right in front of him looking transparent," she explained to him.

"Oh," he said.

As soon as he said that, he started to relax again and True Hearts tummy symbol flashed and they were back in the forest beside the lake.

"So now we need to find Curious Heart?" he asked.

She nodded, but she looked a little sad.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked.

"Its alright, we still need to find Curious Heart, though," she said, already walking, although she was a little shaky.

'Must still be a little shocked because of the dream,' he thought as he followed her through the forest. Even he was still shocked at the event.

'I hope Curious Heart and Brave Heart are doing alright,' he hoped, yet somewhere in his mind, he felt that something was wrong…

…Really wrong…

**The Hidden SecretsOf A Wolf**

"Stop…No more…ugh!" said a restless, yet sleeping, form of Curious Heart.

He has been like that ever since he and Brave Heart arrived in Take Care Bear's house/clinic. Brave Heart had arrived on her doorstep tired and worried carrying a fainted Curious Heart.

They had put him on a bed, where he lay silently for a few minutes while Take Care asked Brave Heart some questions, but another few minutes later, Curious Heart started screaming, yelling and thrashing on the bed. Of course, they had to restrain him to stop him from hurting himself, but that only stopped his thrashing, leaving him to yell all he wanted.

"Are you sure there isn't any way to make him stop his yelling?" Brave Heart asked, his voice just a notch above the wolf's. "It's beginning to give me a big headache!" he pointed out.

"I wish I could, and I really do, but unless we want him to hurt himself, we can't do anything," she informed him.

"Maybe we could just-" he suggested, but before he could finish his questions…

"No, we can't," she said, ending the argument with a 'don't even try' tone. She almost never uses that tone, unless she really means it. "He is in a very vulnerable state, and anything that might disrupt his mental state more might do more damage than any good that it'll do for any of us put together."

"Okay," he said. Still, he would not leave Curious Heart alone, even if the situation were against him. After all, he promised Loyal Heart that he would watch over the wolf.

"Mother! No!" the wolf suddenly called out.

This startled both of them greatly.

"Did he just say…what I think he said?" Brave Heart wondered out loud, but was confirmed by a nod by Take Care Bear. "But didn't you say that he had amnesia?" he asked, which she answered by another nod.

A few days after Curious Heart joined the family, Take Care Bear checked on him if he really did have amnesia, which was checked with a 100 positive.

"Then that must mean that he might have remembered something!" Brave Heart announced.

"Maybe, but he might forget it when he wakes up," she informed him. "Either way, I need to check on him when he calms down. We also shouldn't burden him with it, or he might hurt himself trying to remember what he can't."

He nodded, but he still couldn't help but be worried for the strange wolf.

Take Care sighed, but then she thought she saw a small flash around Curi's right wrist.

'I wonder if his bracelet always flashes like that,' Take Care thought, looking at his bangle. Brave Heart never seemed to notice, but for Take Care's observant eyes caught tha flash the second it happened. It was a bit dim, but she saw it nevertheless…

-

With Loyal Heart and True Heart…

They had been trying to find Curious and Brave Heart for some time. They had first checked Loyal's house. However, when they arrived, they weren't there, Loyal Heart almost panicked, except True Heart calmed him down before he could go frantic.

"Well, maybe they went for a walk, after all, he may calmed down after a little time's rest," she said.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, calming down considerably. He knew he didn't think of Curi 'like a brother'. He really thought of him as 'real brother'. As if they knew each other since they were born, and he couldn't care less that they weren't blood related.

"I'm sure they'll be all right," she assured him. 'At least, I hope so,' she thought.

"So where do we go now?" he asked, still a little bit worries and panicked.

"How about we go to Take Care's clinic just in case?" she asked, smiling.

Loyal Heart sighed and nodded.

"Well, come on then," she said, walking towards Take Care's abode.

He followed her, but his mind was already elsewhere. He thought of all the strange happenings and events that coursed through the day.

'First Curi gets his crazy dream, then he acts completely out-of-character during the tummy symbol practice, then True Heart and I reach my dream plane and she sees my dream, then I see Curious' crazy nightmare, or whatever that was, and then he disappears from the house when he said he would rest!' he thought incredulously. "What next?" he muttered to himself.

"Beg your pardon?" True Heart asked.

"Nothing, I'm just becoming stressed," he told her. "I didn't know having a younger brother like Curious Heart would be so stressful."

"Well, I guess you know a little on how hard it was trying to watch over you and the other carebears and carebear cousins when you were still little, cute babies," she said, reminiscing.

He blushed, but not as much as when she saw his dream. "I guess…" he said, "but I don't regret ever accepting him as my younger brother."

"And I am glad that you don't," she said, smiling. "He needs someone like you to look up to, like his…never mind, I'll tell you when we find him," she suddenly said.

"Like his what?" he asked. He was never one to pry, but then again, this was about Curi.

"Please, just be patient, you will know when the time comes," she said.

He nodded, albeit reluctantly, though.

They continued to walk towards the clinic without any more topics mainly on Curious Heart, to Loyal Heart's relief, because he didn't want to go frantic again. They did talk about what they have been doing for a while.

Loyal Heart talked about some of his caring missions, and helping Curious on his, although he seemed to do just fine, and what he has been doing during his free time, while True Heart just asked him how he was doing. She also talked about her time with Noble Heart.

'I guess she does need some new company for a while, like Noble Heart said,' Loyal Heart thought. He knew how close True Heart and Noble Heart were, and he couldn't help but think that there may be something going on between them. Then again, some of the other family members thought the same thing.

It was a relief to both of them just to talk, without any troubling problems bothering them, but they knew that they still had something important to do.

But until they get to Take Care's clinic, they would just try to relax and try not to be stressed out.

-

Back in the clinic, Curious had finally relaxed enough for Take Care to check on him. Also, his bangle stopped flashing, but Take Care didn't give it a second thought.

"Hm…strange," she muttered, inspecting under his arm.

"What?" Brave Heart asked, relieved that Curious Heart had finally stopped yelling and thrashing, but still worried.

"He has some bruises under his arm, but they don't look like they were caused by anything I know off, other than a…impossible," she said, shaking her head.

"What? What's impossible?"

"These marks, if I'm not mistaken, were made by a gun, but that's simply impossible, since none of our caring missions ever involve guns in any way," she said.

"And it would never involve them ever," a feminine voice said.

Startled, Take Care and Brave Heart looked door of clinic to see a familiar white bear and blue dog standing in front of the entrance.

"Loyal Heart! True Heart!" Brave Heart exclaimed, "I'm glad you're here."

"Is anything wrong with Curious Heart, and what gun marks?" he asked, visibly worried for the wolf's welfare.

"It seems that Curious Heart here has some bruises that resemble gun marks. Do you know anything about it?" Take Care asked seriously.

"Gun marks? True Heart, do you think," he left his question unfinished, knowing that she knew what he was talking about.

"Maybe so, but we can't be sure," she replied, uncertain.

"What are you talking about?" Brave Heart asked, dumbfounded.

"I took him to _you know where_ so that we could see what was troubling Curi," she said, as if telling them would tell them everything.

"So, you're saying that his bruises have something to do with his dream? So there must be a gun in his dream then," the red bear said.

She was rewarded with a nod from both of them for her correct statement.

"Did he get shot in his dream?" Brave Heart asked, tilting his head.

"Not sure, since it was a _real_ wolf. Not like us, but it looked like him in retrospect," Loyal Heart said, remembering what the wolf looked like.

"Maybe it was him in past?" Brave Heart suggested.

"If so then-" Loyal Heart was cut off by True Heart.

"No, its not," she said. Then she looked at Loyal Heart and said, "Sorry for interrupting, but it really wasn't Curi."

"Why? How do you know that?" he asked, looking at her curiously

"Ugh…" sounded through the room before she could reply.

"Curious Heart!" they all said, switching their attention to the tan wolf.

He was sitting on bed, his feet dangling at the side of the bed weakly. He looked tired, but for once, he was smiling, although he looked like he was in a bit of pain from sitting up from the bed.

"You had me worried so much, Curi!" Loyal Heart said, running over and hugging the wolf, stronger than he did last time, and this time, he couldn't say anything because of it.

"Excuse me, Loyal Heart? I'm sorry for interrupting your reunion but Curious Heart can't breath," Take Care said bluntly.

"Oh! Sorry 'bout that," he said, releasing his death hug on Curious Heart. Even with the situation at hand, they seemed to have found the heart to laugh or chuckle, even Curious Heart, although his was a little low and raspy.

"I'm certainly glad you're feeling better," Brave Heart said, looking over at Curious Heart.

"Thanks, I am too, and sorry for worrying all of you," he replied. "Although, I want to know, what's a gun?" he asked. They all seemed to have tensed up. "Hello?" he asked.

"A gun is a dangerous tool made by humans for…some…things," Take care answered for all of them. "It's not important right now, first, we need to know if you're okay," she said, immediately changing the subject, to the relief of the white bear, dog, and lion.

"Okay," he replied. He didn't feel like pursuing whatever the "tool" was used for; he was too tired.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Loyal Heart suddenly said. "True Heart, now that we found Curi, now can you tell us what you saw in his dream?" he asked her.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped," she said.

Curious looked confused. 'How do they know what was in my dream?' he thought, but he didn't say his question, wanting to know what they were talking about.

"Curious Heart, do you have any memory, any memory at all, that reminds you of your family before you joined ours?" she asked.

"No…do you?" he asked, looking at her expectantly.

She sighed.

"Curious Heart, I believe you have a brother," she said.

"I know, Loyal Heart," he said a matter-of-factly, looking at the blue dog, who strangely looked confused.

"No, that's not what I mean," she said. "I mean a **real** brother, a biological brother, a brother whom you share the same blood and the same parents. That kind of brother," she told him, her face pleading him to understand.

"I…have a…real brother?" he asked, completely in shock, as was everyone else.

'Then where is he?' he thought, looking at the window, wondering...thinking...

...Believing...

To be continued… 

That's it until the next chapter. I hope you like it, "although it was a bit dark," says my cousin. I hope you enjoyed this all the same, though. I'm not sure when I can post the next part, but I'll try to be fast. R&R please!


	2. Part II

Author's Note:

Please go to the first chapter for the disclaimer, since I'm too lazy to put it here.

I hope that the story is all right with you guys (and gals). I'm still not sure if they are OOC or not, better see for yourselves.

Brotherhood of the Canines – Part 2 

**Awakening**

'Where am I?' thought a wakening wolf.

Curi looked at his surroundings to see that he was now back in his room, in his and Loyal Heart's house, on his messed up bed.

His room color was still the same teal color. He also had a night lamp beside his bed, and on the end of his bed was a big chest, where he kept a large collection of various objects. For some strange reason, he liked collecting shiny and lustrous objects. There was a light-orange standing mirror at the corner of his room and a medium-sized TV across it at the opposite corner on a blue counter, but the TV was facing his bed, so that he could watch from the comfort of his bed.

"I'm home, but what am I doing here?" he muttered, his mind blurred and fuzzy. He could barely recall what happened before he seemed to have blacked out.

'Maybe I'll remember all of it later,' he thought as he sat up from his bed. For some reason, he felt a lot better since the nightmare incident.

As he got off from bed, he looked at its messy form.

'I should fix this,' he thought, as he began arranging his bed in a more proper fashion.

Just because he had a child-like mind most of the time doesn't mean that he doesn't have a more mature side. Also because Loyal Heart would either nag him to do it or do it himself, although he mostly did the former.

"Where is Loyal Heart anyway?" he wondered out loud, in a thoughtful face, as he finished fixing his bed.

"Oh, you're a awake!" the voice of the said person called out.

Curi, startles by his sudden outburst, looked at his way, eyes wide.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you had gotten better…" he said, thinking that Curious Heart might've felt worse, but to his surprise, and relief, Curi smiled widely.

"I feel much better now," he said, "even though I kind have forgotten what happened in the clinic."

"Oh…so you don't remember 'bout…you know…your brother?" he asked, unsure of what he was trying to say.

"My brother?" Curi said. At first, he couldn't understand, but then realization filled his face. "My brother!" he suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" Loyal Heart said, as Curious rushed to him and hugged him the same way that he had done to him when he woke up in the clinic.

"I have a brother! I actually have a piece of my life somewhere in the city!" he kept on saying, happy that he has a connection to his forgotten past.

Too bad that Loyal Heart couldn't take enough air to congratulate him.

"C-can't…breathe…!" Loyal Heart said, closing his eyes as hard from the lack of air.

"Oh! Sorry, but I couldn't help myself!" he said, scratching his head. "I just can't believe that there may be someone that can help me remember what I have forgotten," he explained.

"Yeah," Loyal Heart said, rubbing his neck. 'Probably deserved that after doing it to Curi,' he thought.

"Hey, what **did** happen after I um…did I black out?" he asked, although he was half-sure that he was correct.

"Yes, you did, but I guess I would too if I found out that I actually had a brother," he said, smiling almost teasingly. "Also, after you blacked out…"

Curious Heart waited patiently.

"I think you might want to sit down on your bed," Loyal Heart said, in which Curi did.

"Okay then. After you blacked out…"

_**Flashback**_

"Curi!" Loyal Heart shouted, surprised that he just fell back on the bed in a blink of an eye. He moved to go and see if he was okay.

"Don't touch him!" Take Care Bear suddenly warned, coming in between the wolf and the worried dog.

"Wha-why not?" he asked, taken aback.

"He looks like he has gone through a shock," she said. "If you touch him, it may do some damage; are you willing to take the chances?" she asked him.

Loyal Heart now looked crestfallen.

"I'm sorry, Loyal Heart, but its for Curious Heart's, as well as yours, own good," she explained, smiling apologetically.

"I know, I know…it's just, I'm just so worried about him," he said. "He is like a brother I never had. He looks up to me, he respects me more than I ever thought he would, he even said that he idolizes me, once," he said, smiling faintly.

"He'll be fine. After all, he survived before you and Proud Heart found him, right? Then he can get through this one as well," True Heart said, mostly to Loyal Heart than anyone else.

"Yeah! And besides, I want to know how you found out that Curious has a brother," Proud Heart pointed out, looking at her.

"Yes, I want to know how you know, too," Loyal Heart said, looking at her, eyes still a bit depressed, but full of curiosity.

At first, True Heart looked reluctant, but then she sighed, knowing that they had to know what she knew, and what she had seen.

"Loyal Heart, do you still remember the last part in Curi's dream?" she asked him.

"Yes. The…hunter…went and got the bracelet wolf in Curi's dream."

"No, no, after that."

"After? I guess," he said, looking thoughtful. "Do you mean when he went to the hole below a tree?" he asked.

She nodded. "And I am guessing you didn't see what he took?"

"No…Wait, are you telling me that?" he left the question hanging.

She nodded, sadness and pity filling her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Proud Heart asked, dumbfounded. He didn't understand what they were talking about. He knew that it had something to do with the wolf's dream, but what he didn't understand was the whole dream itself, since he never saw it firsthand.

"Let me explain," Take Care said. "I may have not seen this dream myself, but from what you two are saying, Curious Heart had a dream wherein a hunter took a similar bracelet that Curious Heart has, and then the hunter took something from a hole below a tree," she said. "Am I correct?"

Loyal Heart and True Heart nodded.

"Okay, but what did the hunter take?" Proud Heart asked.

"He…he…" True Heart tried to say, but she always gets into a state of shock whenever she recalls what she saw. 'I am so glad that none of the carebear cubs ever got taken away," she thought.

"Let me," Loyal Heart said, sensing her disturbed nature on the subject.

She nodded at him thankfully.

"I'm sure you know that the hunter took something from a hole," he said, and they nodded. "Well, it wasn't exactly a hole, it was a den," he said.

"A den? You mean the ones that foxes and badgers live in?" Proud Heart asked.

"Yes, except it was den of a wolf, and from what I know, it must have belonged to Curi."

"And it would have also belonged to his siblings!" Take Care finished.

"Yes, and that was what True Heart must've seen."

"But how come you don't know, and she does?" Proud Heart asked.

"The hunter blocked his view, but I saw it clearly, but…" True Heart trailed off.

"But what?" Loyal Heart asked, tilting his head.

"I am not sure if he only had _one_ brother, or even just one _sibling_," she said.

"You mean he could have as much as five siblings?" Take Care asked incredulously.

"Mm hm. You see, the hunter clearly took Curious Heart and another male pup, but before he could do anything else, his dream reset," she explained, "I'm sorry I couldn't see anymore."

"It's okay. After all, its beyond your control," he said.

"Well, maybe I know a way to make things work again!" Proud Heart suddenly claimed.

"Really? And what, per say, would that be?" Take Care asked.

"Let's find Curi's brother-er, I mean, siblings," he said, smiling confidently.

"That would work, except for one thing," Loyal Heart said.

"Really? What?"

"How will we find at most five to at least one wolf in a huge city? For all we know, it could even be on another country!"

"Well," Proud Heart said, looking thoughtful. He decided to say something that reminded him of one his nieces and his nephews. "On the 'contrary'! We gotta be 'patient', don't we? We can always 'hope', and there always a 'chance', isn't there?" he said, smiling smugly.

The two carebears and carebear cousin looked thoughtful for a moment. He was right, and they've got nothing to lose in just trying to find the wolf's siblings. Loyal Heart laughed a little when he made an emphasis on the names of his nieces and nephews.

"You're really happy that you're an uncle now, aren't you?" Loyal Heart asked, but it was more of a statement, a statement that made Proud Heart look proud.

"Okay then, let's do it," Loyal Heart said, cutting to the chase. "I'll tell him when he wakes up, and hopefully, he'll be as right as rain," he added, looking at the wolf.

'Curi really did an effect on him. He's really willing to do anything for his _little brother_,' True Heart thought, giggling softly.

"Let's also hope that Curi wakes up soon," Take Care said. Proud Heart and Loyal Heart nodded in agreement.

_**End Flashback**_

"Oh," Curi said, happy for the information, but then another question tugged at him. "If you weren't allowed to touch me, then how did I get on my bed?" he asked, head tilting.

"Oh, after a while, Take Care said that it was okay to move you, so Proud Heart helped me carry you back," Loyal Heart explained, a bit embarrassed that he left that little part out.

"By the way, did anything _else_ happen while I was, er, unconscious?"

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me," Loyal Heart exclaimed. "We have a caring mission. Tender Heart said that if you wake up today, then we could take it. I hope you don't mind that I agreed."

"No, not at all," Curi said, standing up. "In fact, I really need to exercise my body. I feel, um…what do you call it? Slack?" he asked.

"Yes, we call it slack," Loyal Heart said.

**Crisis Of Two Brothers**

"So we have to go to this boy,Joshua right?" Curi asked as he watched down the cloud mobile. Ever since his first ride, he started to become fascinated with the machine. What made it fly, what it was made of, how to work it; of course, since Loyal couldn't answer that, he resorted to asking 'the purple raccoon', or better known as Bright Heart Raccoon.

"Yup, and from what Tender Heart told me, he, er, lost…someone precious…" Loyal Heart replied, a bit reluctantly.

"Precious?" Curi asked, almost as if he didn't understand it, but he really did. It was actually one of the words he took to heart. "Precious what?"

"Well…er," he stammered. 'Would it be insulting to say 'just like you' to him, or should I just be blunt?' he thought to himself, although knowing fully what the right answer of that one was. "Maybe lost wasn't the right word…" he said, thinking of a way to explain it without insulting him.

"You know what? Never mind," Curi suddenly said, utterly shocking Loyal Heart that he almost stopped driving the cloud mobile altogether and he also thought that his heart sipped a beat.

"W-what did you say?" Loyal Heart asked incredulously. The only time he ever let any question go was...never, at least for as long as he knew him. If he didn't get an answer one time, he would ask it again in a later time.

"Hm?" Curi looked as if he didn't know what Loyal Heart was talking about. "If your thinking that I stopped asking 'cuz I wanted to, then your wrong, since I think that's the boy right down there, and we can find out from him later," he explained, pointing at a teenage boy with brown hair looking very stressed, or worried, or both. Still though it was a bit unusual for him to let go _any_ question at all.

"Oh…okay then," Loyal Heart muttered, uncertainly. He knew better than to pry, but he still couldn't help but feel worried slightly, but left it alone. He slowly lowered the cloud mobile.

'Besides, I don't think that you telling me will make the situation better,' he added in his head, glumly. It wasn't because he was feeling sick, but because he felt this strange tingling feeling that made him a bit depressed…

…And neither of them noticed how his bangle glowed dimly, but even if they did, the sunshine would have made it look like light's reflection.

-.U.->

A roughly thirteen year-old boy with messy brown hair, hazel eyes stricken with worry and a messed up green polo shirt was pacing the ground, muttering something inaudible even to the closest pair of ears.

'Boy he looks stressed,' Curi thought.

'I wonder if I looked like that when I thought that Curi was going to severely sick,' the other carebear cousin thought, reminded of his little 'show' at the clinic. 'I hope not,' he added thoughtfully.

"Hello," the both of them said simultaneously, successfully startling the boy on his behind…and yelling in surprise.

"Oh…a-are you guys the carebears Lisa talked 'bout?" the boy asked.

"I guess, but who's Lisa? You?" Curi asked.

"Uh, she's a friend of mine that you, or your friends helped and my name's Joshua," he replied, chuckling a little. Then he looked thoughtful. "I thought you guys were care_bears_," he added.

"We are, well, carebear cousins actually," Loyal Heart said, smiling.

"What's the difference?"

"Not much, except we just aren't bears. By the way, my name is Loyal Heart Dog," he pointing to himself. "And this is my younger brother, Curious Heart Wolf," he added, pointing at the said wolf, who gestured a hello.

However, Joshua flinched at the words '_younger brother_' for some reason that Curi didn't know. And to add to the strangeness of the situation (at least to Curious), Loyal Heart seemed to have also flinched, and had the same look when he berated himself in his head.

"Um…what's wrong, anyway?" Curi asked, tilting his head.

"Well, you see, **my **_younger brother_ is kind of…lost," he explained, seemingly regretful. "More like ran 'way, actually..."

"Huh?" Curi looked even more curious now.

"How'd it happen?" Loyal Heart asked.

At first, Joshua looked reluctant. His eyes were wandering, his hands trembled a little, and his foot looked like it was shaking. Then, he sighed and looked very serious.

"It's all my fault really. If I didn't tell 'im 'bout 'is other brother bein' here, then he wouldn't 'ave ran away to find 'is other brother," he explained, looking regretful.

'So that's why…' Curi thought, a bit understanding the younger brother. He had felt the same, wanting to find his real brother, but he couldn't just leave Loyal Heart just like that; he respects and cares for him more than that.

"First of all, where did you see him last? It might give us a clue where he might have went," Loyal Heart started, "next, where does he like to hang out? He might be there. Next, what is his other brother's name? That might help us, even a little. Lastly, what's your brother's name and what does he look like? That would be the most important thing."

Curious Heart smiled and looked proudly at Loyal Heart, who wanted very much to find this kid's brother. 'And I want to help, too!' he thought, looking at the boy, and then called a notebook and a pen. 'I think I'll write this down, too,' he thought.

Loyal Heart looked at him, and smiled, silently thanking him for Curi's common sense…or at least of how much common sense he knew.

"Well, last I saw 'im, he was with 'is friends near 'is school, that's where I think he might've ran away. Come to think of it, he was carrying a gray bag," Joshua said, looking thoughtful, and Curious quickly wrote that right away. "He always liked hanging around the park near the big oak tree. That was where we usually played when we were younger. He also liked going to the port. He always loved going near the sea. He said it relaxes 'im. I think he might've also gone to the clubhouse a few blocks from school, but I'm not sure," he said, pointing at the direction of each area he told of.

"Anywhere else? You know, somewhere he thinks he wouldn't be found?" Loyal Heart asked.

"I can only think of the school, since other than meeting 'is friends there, he doesn't like to go near it," he said, smiling sheepishly.

"Why doesn't he like to go to school?" Curi asked, transferring his attention from his little notebook.

"Heh heh. He doesn't like it there 'cuz he says he gets too tired and bored there easily. He said he likes open spaces better," Joshua explained, chuckling a little.

"Okay, back to the questions," Loyal Heart said, not unkindly.

"Okay. I'm not sure of 'is brother's name, but I think it was close Micheal (My-kel), or Mikael (Mi-ka-el), but I do know 'is surname is Lorale. Lastly, my brother's name is Timothy, or Tim the troublesome, as we like to call 'im since he always seems to get 'imself in trouble in one-way or another. He has short blonde hair with green eyes. He wears a pair of red glasses and is about your height," he said, pointing at Curious Heart, who was onlyan inch shorter than Loyal Heart.

"Okay, that's about it then?" Curi asked the blue dog.

"Yes, I guess," he replied. "Don't worry we'll find your brother. Where will we meet you when we find him?"

"Just our house. It's a yellow house with a small garden. You can't miss it," the teen said, a bit of relief in his voice. "Please find my brother. He's the only one that I get to talk to when were not in school."

The carebear cousins nodded simultaneously and surely. They knew how it was like to have a brother, now that they had each other, and they both knew that they would be saddened very much at the thought of being separated.

**Searching for the Lost Boy**

"Where could one boy be!" a tired Curious Heart exclaimed out loud. He was thinking about all the places they went while Loyal Heart skimmed through the notebook that Curi called some hours ago.

When they first left Joshua, it was around 8 am, and it was currently 12noon then. Of course, the first place they searched was the school, and they took1-2 hours searching for him there. Then they used the cloud mobile searching for the park with the big oak tree, which took them a while, considering how many parks there were, and when they did find it, it took longer to search, since itlooked to bearoundtwo times larger than the areaof the school, plus all the bushes and trees to look through.

'At least I found some interesting things there,' he thought. He found a couple of new things to keep in his chest of lustrous objects, for which he still didn't know why he liked them so much.

"Well, looks like we'll have to go to the port," Loyal Heart said, finally closing the notebook.

"Where is?" Curi asked, scratching behind his ear.

" I am pretty sure it's across the town…" Loyal Heart said with a tired voice.

If Curi were any more tired than he was, he would've fainted right there and then. Then again, he wasn't that tired, and something interesting came up…or more like came down.

"Hey there!" shouted a familiar deep voice.

"Huh?"

"Hello," said a tiger on another cloud mobile flying overhead and beside him was an all too familiar lion with a very happy grin.

"Hi Proud Heart, Stellar Heart," Curious said, smiling lightly and waving.

The tiger smiled a bit bashfully. He had met Curious Heart a few times, and each time Curi kept on asking him a lot of questions, almost faster than he can answer. Usually Regal or Loyal had to save him from the inquisitive wolf. Fortunately, Curi never asked anything about his past, which he was relieved for.

"Hello again, Proud Heart. Good afternoon Stellar," Loyal Heart said politely.

"What are you two doing out here?" Proud Heart asked, lowering the cloud mobile.

"Were still on a caring mission."

"What's the problem?"

"Were trying to find a lost boy. A bit my height, has blonde hair, green eyes, wears a pair of glasses and carrying a gray bag," Curious Heart said, sitting down. "We've been searching for him since eight in the morning."

"That long?" Stellar asked.

"Mm hm, and we still two more places to cover," Curious Heart complained, frowning a little. "One of the places is the port which is across town and then we have to find the boy's clubhouse, which should be a few blocks from his school."

"Well, maybe we can help," Proud Heart suggested. "We finished our mission early, and I'm sure Regal Heart and the twins can handle the kids for a while."

"I don't know…Regal and the twins can only handle so much," Stellar said.

"Come on. You know that Pace is quieter than a mouse munching on cheese," Proud Heart said, remembering that Pace barely cried or whined at all.

"Well…okay then. What could go wrong?"

"I'm pretty sure there isn't, and thank you," Loyal Heart said, thankful.

"We really appreciate it," Curi added.

"Where do you need us to go?" Proud Heart asked.

"The port, and see if you can find any clues, okay?" Loyal Heart asked nicely.

"Sure. Where will we meet?"

"I trust you know where the school is?"

"The big one with the green gate?"

"That's the one."

"Okay, then, we'll see you later," Stellar said, waving as the two felines flew in the sky and went off to find the port.

"Thank goodness for that," Loyal Heart said all of a sudden.

"Can we go now? The sooner we get to this clubhouse the sooner me might finish," Curi said, already walking to the cloud mobile.

'Is it me, or is Curi a little bit impatient today?' Loyal Heart thought, but let it slide from his mind as the said wolf called his name.

"It's going to be a long day," Loyal Heart said, smiling faintly as he walked towards the vehicle, that is, until Curious Heart spotted another shiny object and just had to get it for his collection. 'A long day indeed,' he thought again, chuckling.

(!O+)

"So this is the clubhouse?" Curi wondered, looking at his surroundings, almost awestruck.

Like Joshua said, the clubhouse was only a few blocks away from the school. However, what they saw was something unexpected.

The clubhouse was normal blue, and at its side were groups of trees, accompanied by flowers and bushes. It had a red roof with a matching chimney. However, that wasn't the unexpected part. The house was large, enough to fit a family of five and a pet dog. It also looked new, as if it was only finished the day before. Pretty potted flowers and a small garden patch at the opposite side also surrounded it.

"I…I guess it is," said an equally surprised Loyal Heart.

"Where are we gonna search first?"

"How about on of us search inside the house, while the other searches outside it. It won't be too hot because of all the trees," Loyal said, pointing at the trees.

Curi sniffed at the air for a moment and then said, "I'll search out here. If I'm lucky, I can get his scent."

"Okay, good luck, and be careful."

"Of what?"

"Of…never mind. Keep a look out, too,"

"Not a problem, but I really want to know what you meant," he pried.

"It's nothing important, just go," he replied, walking towards the house.

Curi just shrugged and then he sniffed the air one more time.

'Good thing that siblings have a little bit similar of a scent,' the wolf thought, reminding himself of the other boy, Joshua.

For a few minutes, he didn't find anything of significance, and he got thoroughly bored with doing nothing but search and sniff. He didn't even find any lustrous object to add to his collection. That is, until he finally found an almost similar scent. His eyes widened as he realized whom he smelt.

"Loyal Heart! I found him! I found his scent!" he yelled out, jumping ecstatically as Loyal Heart came rushing out of the clubhouse and in front of the hyper wolf.

"Where?" Loyal Heart asked, panting a little from his sprint.

The wolf sniffed the air once more (his head went from left to right as he sniffed) and said, "From the trail of the scent, he wentaway of the clubhouse towards another part of town, most likely. I'm sure he crossed the school becuase the scent goes towards it, at least, I think. Luckily, its only a few hours old. Some 7 or 8, I'm guessing."

"Maybe, but we need to make sure. Can you track him down?"

"Sure. That's not a problem for me," he answered, already following the trail.

"We need to make sure that Proud Heart and Brave Heart are okay first. For all we know, they could have already found him."

Curious nodded and then said, "I'll meet you by the school while you go get them, if that's okay. I'm kind of worried that I might lose the scent if I go with you."

At first Loyal Heart looked like he was going to protest, but then his face showed acceptance. He had to accept that he can't always be there for him, or he would be doing two things at the same time; being a carebear cousin helping others and an older brother watching over his sibling.

"Okay, just-"

"Be careful, I know, I know. You've said that to me so many times that I come to expect it already," he told him, smiling mischievously, "anyone would think that you were my mother by the way your acting."

"Okay. I'll see you later then."

Curi nodded back and followed the scent. Fortunately for him, it lead to the school, and unfortunately, it took a lot of time.

'I wonder where the kid is…This is going to be a very, very, _very_ long day …' he though as he stayed in one area, close to the scent.

And he never knew how right he was right at that moment…

To be continued… 

Sorry that was so short, but whenever I make another scene/chapter, I get writer's block. I already planned out some parts in the next piece, and hopefully, I won't get as much writer's block. I won't be able to post it soon, though, since my family and I will be busy during Christmas break.

PS: Stellar Heart will play an importantrole in one of the parts, just to let the readers know, of course.


End file.
